LADY GAGA’S CONFUSED STATE

Catalyst June Issue 2011

When we first learned that Lady Gaga was planning on releasing the video to her song “Judas” during Holy Week we couldn’t help but think “Here we go again.” Not only were we surprised that the video wasn’t released during Holy Week, we were also surprised when we found out that a video was leaked from her May HBO special showing the pop star in sincere prayer. No sooner did we issue a statement praising her for her prayerful sincerity, we found out that she released the video for “Judas” thus demonstrating that she was backsliding again. It is clear that Lady Gaga is in a confused state.

After criticizing Lady Gaga for tweaking Catholic sensibilities with her Easter present—releasing the single “Judas,” from her album Born This Way—we were in the position to say something positive about the addlepated pop queen. A clip from an upcoming HBO documentary was leaked on the Internet and offered a new look at her. Shown applying makeup backstage before an event at Madison Square Garden, and obviously distraught, she began with an angry rant but then segued into a confessional stance: she prayed to God in a manner that could not have been staged. Indeed, her sincerity shone through.

She began her prayer with reverence, offering, “Dear Lord, thank you so much for the blessings of all my friends, my fans, and my family.” Shortly thereafter she said, “Dear Lord, please give me strength to be a winner for all of them and not for myself. Dear Lord, remind me to empower not myself but to empower all those people around me because that is my gift.” She then asked God for courage, begging, “Do not let me give in to my own insecurities. Allow me to walk in Your way.”

Bill Donohue addressed the media saying: “Is this Lady Gaga’s epiphany moment? It may be. One thing is for sure: she has not lost her Catholic roots. In fact, the belligerence of her opening statement, coupled with her unhappy demeanor, contrasts sharply with her prayerful and peaceful exit.”

We said that we hoped this wasn’t just a convenient pivot and hoped that she would set anchor in the religion of her upbringing and find everlasting peace. Unfortunately, after previewing the video for “Judas,” it looked to us as if she was backsliding again.

In her “Judas” video, Gaga plays fast and loose with Catholic iconography, and generates several untoward statements, but she typically dances on the line without going over it. Donohue called the video a “mess.” “Incoherent,” he continued, “it leaves the viewer more perplexed than moved. The faux-baptismal scene is a curious inclusion, as is her apparent fondness for the Jesus character.”

Though disappointing as this video was, we said that we weren’t to be going ballistic over the confused star’s latest contribution. If anyone thought otherwise, it is clear they haven’t a clue of what constitutes anti-Catholicism.